My Immortal
by MorganRay
Summary: (Complete) When a mysterious girl appears in Sage's dreams, a slaughter of young women occurs. What dark secrets in Dais's past hold the answers? blood, nudity, some swearing, but not a ton of any
1. Prolouge

Prologue  
  
Darkness rendered my vision useless. This was the first time I had ever gone to the soil tunnel first and in deep sleep, and the thought disturbed me, but I knew I'd find her here. I needed to talk to her again, to find out her name, her reason for plaguing my existence. "Lady?" I called her politely, and my blind eyes saw her in the darkness, radiating her own light. She was naked, as I suppose she always appeared, and her long, ebony hair had seemed to cover every part of her except her face and below her knees. Tonight, I realized, I saw her clearly, and her hair wasn't the encompassing cloak I thought it to be, although it extended to her knees all the same.  
"Hello," she said quietly. "Why do you look for me?"  
"I don't look," I stared into her dark eyes, just tinting yellow around the pupil. "You've haunted me for months, and I'd like to.ask you anything.your name.your.anything." She stepped closer to me in smooth, graceful steps. "What's that?"  
For the first time, I noticed a green star of sorts resting on her breastbone, and her movement had shifted her hair to uncover it. She placed her hands on it protectively, and stared up into my eyes. "It's the star of my people," she smiled. I reached to touch it, touch her, but she moved back, and I found I could barely move. "No, do not touch me."  
"Why not?" I asked quietly. "I need to know if you're real or a plague of my mind!"  
"I am real," she whispered. "But you may not touch me. You are not my lover." I stopped at her words. I posed the question, but her light got brighter, and then it wasn't her light, and the vision disappeared altogether.  
"Crap," I whispered. I had made real conversation with her, but with avail. I turned over to my nightstand, digging around in the drawer until I found a piece of paper and a pencil. I carefully sketched her star before it fled my mind. I made arrows and the outside rim for royal blue. In the center of the yellow as a rose-type flower, and I drew it as best I could. I stopped and looked at the star of her people, whoever she might be.  
"Sage!" Kento yelled up the steps. "You up?"  
"Sure," I threw the drawing back in my nightstand, hurriedly pushing the dream away from another night. 


	2. Pains

Chapter 1: Pains  
Bolting upright, I grabbed my chest pain seared its way across my chest, right above the breast gone. My weakness would be heard, and I would be tortured in the dungeons if I cried out, like I had once. I undid the breastplate of my underlying armor, carefully laying it down beside me. I walked the mirror, picked up the silver knife, caked with dry blood, that rested by it. Carefully, trying to stop my trembling hands, I moved the knife down over my chest, at the point of pain, across the cursed green star. It came back, almost nightly as of late, with tremendous pain, the single constant reminder of a dead past.  
After I had shaved off enough skin so the burning stopped, and I placed my breastplate on once more. An echo in my mind called me. "Dais." I was being summoned to serve my Master. I placed myself into full armor, ready for any battle against the disgusting word of men.  
"My Warlords," the voice of Master sounded more in my head than my ears. "A sacrifice is needed to bring us more power. The spilled blood of a pure, virgin, priestess will bring me great power. Retrieve to me a priestess who is a worthy sacrifice. Take this stone. It will tell you if her blood is pure, and if she is not, kill her."  
  
"Her blood is not pure," Cale threw down another worthless girl. "Do you know any priestesses?"  
"N-n-n," the girl's answer took to long. I sliced a sickle threw her stomach.  
"Let us leave," I turned for the girl. "We haven't found a suitable sacrifice yet, and Master will be livid if don't get that craved priestess."  
"Anymore suggestion?" Sekhmet scowled. "We've barely found a dozen with blood of a fourth priestess!"  
"Quiet!" Cale snapped. He looked into the stone to see another watered down descendent of a once powerful priestess. "I see one.but she's different.I can't see her face.she's hiding in a mountain cave, covered by rock."  
"Why didn't you see her before?" I scowled at him.  
"We weren't close enough! The stone was given to me! I intend to use it!" Cale placed the stone back into its pouch. "Let's find her." 


	3. Sacraficial Offering

Chapter 2: Sacrificial Offerings  
Steering my way through the last bout of traffic before I headed into the mountain roads was a relief. I drove horribly, so why they let me go, I didn't know. I got no volunteers for grocery shopping, but I did all the cooking anyway, so I hardly needed a list to know what materials were needed, but man, any road sucked.  
"There'd be no music if they were here," I hummed along to the steady rock beat over the speakers. At least I could institute my own driving rules and no more 'Cye, turn off the music! It's distracting you.'  
I slammed the brakes. Damn, they might be right about the music thing, though. I peered over the windshield at the girl lying in the middle of the road. I could already see the blood. I ran out of the car, going to her side. "What happened!" I touched the heavily bleeding stomach wound. She wrenched my arm in her hands, eyes wide with fright. "It's okay! I'm not going to hurt you!"  
"They.They'll come back.for me!" She moaned in pain. "They.hurt.me."  
I hoisted her up into the back seat, laying her horizontally. "It's okay. I'm going to get you help. Calm down." I jumped into the seat, and gunned the jeep into motion. I sped up the driveway at full speed, flying up out of the seat as I careened my way to certain death over the rough gravel and around sharp bends. The need to go faster beat in my head, along with hates for whatever woman basher did this.  
"Help!" I threw the car into park in a fluid motion, skidding brakes, and almost going through the windshield. "Help!" I threw myself out the door, running to get the girl out of backseat, covered in blood.  
"Cye? What the." Kento walked outside and saw the girl. He rushed over and took her, as I headed into the house, mind already on medical supplies that we kept in our emergency kit.  
"What happened to her!" Sage had come down the stairs and had already come over to help me. Rowen and Ryo began to prepare a place for her on the couch.  
"I found her in the middle of the road here.good thing we keep this stuff stocked," I brought the Band-Aids and gauze behind Sage, who looked ready to stitch her up.  
"That's a bad wound," Ryo took a look at the stomach wound. "Who did this to her? Did she say?"  
"No," I prepared to wrap the wound. "She passed out as soon as I got her in the jeep."  
I lifted her shirt and began to wrap the gaping stomach wound. "Sage, heal her! She's losing lots of blood!" Sage knelt down, putting his hands above the huge wound. He concentrated very hard, warm power pouring over her gash. I never stopped wrapping, trying to keep the gushing blood in. After fifteen minutes, Sage stopped and immediately passed out. Rowen moved fast and kept him from hitting his head on the floor, and carefully laid him down.  
"She needs a hospital," Kento said quickly. "She's lost too much blood. Let's get her out of here." I nodded and went to the car with Kento.  
"Kento and I will go," I headed into the passenger side as Kento sat down in the driver's side. We headed down the gravel drive, Kento not going nearly as fast as I would have.  
"That's where I found her," I told Kento as we passed the spot. He nodded, concentrating on the road ahead. "I hate women beaters, the sick creatures."  
"Yeah," Kento scowled. "Is she awake? She probably knows who did it because she wasn't supposed to live. You know, it kind of works that way."  
I nodded grimly. I started at her pale face. I didn't even know her name. She had no purse or wallet either. Great, it'd take hours to explain this to the hospital. "Faster," I demanded Kento.  
"We'll get pulled over by a cop," Kento grunted. We'd had a couple bad experiences with the law, mostly misunderstandings. "I'm not driving like you, man, not on the main roads now. I'll cause a wreck."  
I drummed my fingers on the dashboard, listening to the raspy breath of the girl. No music blared through the speakers as I watched her pale face, taping incessantly. I peered out the window, wondering why it had taken an eternity to get to the city limits. Faster, oh lord, faster, Kento. "She's going to die!" I screamed at him. Kento broke through two stoplights in a row, white fist clenched on the wheel.  
The siren sounded as we pulled into the ambulance parking at the hospital. Ignoring the cops, Kento hopped out and grabbed her from the back, as I ran ahead. "Out of the way! She needs doctors!" 


	4. Clay Maiden

Chapter 3: Clay Maiden  
"This is the tunnel," Sekhmet opened the hole in the earth fully. I knew this country, but it had changed. The people of my past didn't bury priestesses in the earth, or at least I thought.  
"Are you sure there's even a priestesses in here?" I looked up at the letters above the doorway, which looked like those that marked a tomb, but they read different. "We rest thee in death's vale," not a traditional "We give thee to peace in the earth." No, they were right.  
"What?" Cale looked at me impatiently. "This tool is telling us she's in here."  
"It's a strange tomb," I mused, then snapped forward. "Yes, there is a priestess in there, no doubt, of some sort, for the markings are strange."  
Proceeding into the earth cavern assaulted my senses. I hadn't seen things like these for centuries. The clay pots of incense lingered through out the niches in the tunnel. Statues of birds, trees, and flowers decorated various places. "The incense smells sweet," Cale mused. "Seems more like this maiden was buried days ago."  
I froze and sniffed. I paled. The incense hadn't been burned. It shouldn't have been fresh, but ashes remaining after it had been completely burnt when the family and priest left the tomb, leaving the dead. This incense, this place, wasn't a tomb, but what I wasn't certain what is could be.  
"She's in here," Sekhmet pried at a large, wooden door until it was forced open enough so we could enter. The body should be wrapped up in linen, placed carefully inside a wooden box, decorated with scenes of the person's life. I peered into the chamber. A torch illuminated a clay burial casket that was in the shape of a sleeping maiden.  
"We've found her," I barely breathed. It was our clay maiden. This wasn't a dead priestess, but a living one, entombed with the dead, waiting to be resurrected for such a purpose as this.  
"Well, clay beauty, you're coming back with us so we can open you up," Cale laughed, yelling at Sekhmet to help him with the large clay casket.  
  
Special thanks to for reviewing. I'd enjoy more reviews. Anywhere you want this story to go? Anything I'm doing wrong? Please point it out. 


	5. Strange Attacks

Chapter Four: Strange Attacks  
It was late for sure, and half a day had passed since Cye and Kento had run the bleeding girl off to the hospital. I stared around my bedroom, thinking about sleeping and the strange girl in my dreams. She might know something about attacks.What was I thinking? Girls in dreams couldn't TALK to you or TELL you anything!  
"The girl is awake," Rowen peered in the room. "Cye and Kento want to ask her questions tomorrow morning, so they're spending the night."  
"Okay, guess I'll sleep then," I undressed to my boxers and lay down to sleep. I don't know when, but I could see the tunnel soon, and I began to race forward, calling to the girl in complete darkness. I hated the dark, and I craved her source of unnatural light. "Where are you!" I yelled out to her. I could hear something, but not much. "Lady! Where have you gone!" I circled around again, waiting for her to appear retracing what might have been my steps. "Lady! We NEED TO TALK!"  
"Who needs to talk?" I bolted upright, realizing I had spoken in my dream. I turned to look at Rowen in the opposite bed, flicking on the light, and I realized sweat glazed my forehead.  
"Nothing," I mumbled. "Just a dream I've been having of a girl, that's all."  
"A girl?" Rowen smirked. I shook my head.  
"Not THAT type of girl," I rubbed my head. "A different kind of girl. She's.trapped.I think.in this tunnel.and I've talked to her in my dreams."  
"As in 'real' conversations?"  
"Yes, except she won't let me touch her or answer certain questions. She always says.her lover is only allowed to touch her."  
"So.where is this going?"  
"I wanted to ask her about the attacks, and I found her when I slept last night, but I couldn't find her tonight." Rowen was thinking deeply when I looked over at him.  
"She's in trouble?"  
"No.she seems alright. She's never asked for help or anything. I thought she might be in trouble, but she never appears scared or lonely."  
"Well.maybe she's not sleeping.so you can't talk to her. It's highly possible that you find each other by luck when you sleep," Rowen yawned, laying back down. "We'll talk more in the morning, and if she shows up, ask her and see if she has an answer. If you've never asked her if she needs help, you might want to do that. So people don't admit the need for help right off hand."  
"Good point and good night," I laid back down, unable to sleep, and when I did, I chased the darkness in the tunnels wordlessly, looking for the girl.  
  
"What did she say?" It was just after lunch when Kento and Cye had come home. Kento lugged in a jug of stain remover because the back seat of the jeep was going to need a good clean. We were seated around the table, munching on chips, waiting for the answers.  
"There were six more exactly like her in the hospital," Cye frowned. "It gets better, though, because seven more turned up outside the hospital, dead."  
"What?" Ryo choked on a chip. "That's a lot of girls."  
"She had the big stomach wound, but she told us her arm was cut first, and her blood squeezed onto a stone," Cye continued. "Then, they said something about imperfect blood, and she was cut open."  
"Whoa, imperfect blood?" Rowen stared from one to the other. "Explain what sick people did this."  
"She doesn't think they're people," Kento stopped eating and looked up at us. "She said 'strange robots,' which probably means they banged her up good, so she couldn't tell up from down. Robots? I mean, come on. Probably a couple of punks in tin foil."  
"Metal," I mused. "Did you talk to any other girls?"  
"No," Cye laughed. "The cops got a go at us, and we barely got in her room, let alone anyone else's room."  
"She saw something metal," I sighed. "Could have been tin foil or silver for all we know. That's what she saw."  
"So, basically, there's a very, very sick slasher out there?" Ryo raised an eyebrow.  
"Did she say anything more about the stone and pure blood?" Rowen looked up from staring at his hands. "That's not something rapists do, you know, or even serial killers, for that matter. They don't take out stones, take a prick of blood, and see if it's pure or not."  
"No, that's all she said." Cye drifted off. "But her name is Ami L. Tamolin."  
"Genealogy," Rowen had stepped away from the table, making his way up to the computer.  
It took hours to find what we were looking for, but Rowen came down stairs later, carrying a couple papers. Cye and I were present in the kitchen while Ryo and Kento had gone out to clean the jeep. "Our girl's history is pretty interesting."  
"How?" Cye was preparing dinner while listening while I put down my book, looking at Rowen. "She royal or something?"  
"No, but her great, great grandmother was a priestess at some kind of temple," Rowen said. "Her great grandmother, however, married a white man, and that kind of broke the line of priestesses that I could trace."  
"Are those files legal?" Cye grinned.  
"No, but you can get them if you do x, y, and z," Rowen waved off the question. "Two more families were identified. I looked up some records there, too, and a general theme of temple service runs through the stories generations back."  
"Ah, so they want priestess blood," I added. Maybe that's why the girl in my dreams was so weird. She could be a priestess for some foreign religion. "But what creep wants things like that?" Sorry, for all those that read before the update. I'm new to this. 


	6. Mia's Revalation

Chapter Five: Mia's Revelation "She's all yours," growled Sekhmet. Talpa had given the job of opening up the clay casket to Sekhmet and then Cale. In essence, we needed to open the casket, but the task seemed out of reach for the other two, but this was something from my past, and surely, I could open it up. Although, I didn't know my people buried priestesses in the dirt, either.  
I strode into the room, stopping before the ring of candles, with the clay casket in the middle. She seemed to shine from within, the sacred blood in her veins taunting me. I focused, not wanting to disrupt the field that kept the casket within our boundaries and out of reach of detection of anyone else that might want her. I stalked around the ring, ready for battle in full armor, viewing the cut marks on the clay. A snigger escaped into the silence. Cale and Sekhemt had tried to open her.  
There was no seal, though, even to my trained eyes. Those who hid her did so with superior knowledge, as if anticipating our every move, our every whim. Oh, I hated humanity for so much. The urge to make them suffer, to inflict the revenge of four hundred years, consumed me as I stared at this maiden. I wanted to split this priestess open myself to begin the flow of vengeance.  
"Why do you hide, lady?" I mocked the maiden. "Come out of there." I didn't think crossing the ring a good idea, for her power was contained there, and it might have been Sekhemt and Cale's undoing. As I circled her once more, I noticed the small engraving on her forehead.  
"Won't you die, cursed star? You failed before!" I threw myself into the ring, throwing myself at the star. I beat it with weapons at first, and then, with my fists, as my weapons didn't avail. My eyes had begun to fog with burning from my chest. Odd, angered animal sounds left my mouth as I slipped down to the ground, clutching my chest. I was immobile.  
(Mia)  
"We need to talk," I hopped out of my jeep. "Kento! Ryo!" I was slightly furious after not getting my ride home. I had been abandoned, and they sat here, cleaning the car they were supposed to pick me up in. "You left me in town all night! I have important information to tell you!"  
"What?" Kento came over to me.  
"My friend, Jean, is in ICU," I glared at Kento. "I was hanging out at the ER last night, too," Kento stretched. "If it's about that rapist, don't worry, Mia, we're working on that."  
"Really?" I was stunned by Kento's maturity. "Then why are you out here, cleaning the jeep?"  
"Cye found one of the victims and we drove her to the hospital. She'll be fine."  
"You know who did this to her?" I put my hands on my hips. "Jean told me."  
"She said it was some psycho dressed up as a robot," Kento was back in the jeep. I felt my jaw drop.  
"ROBOTS!" I made Kento and Ryo jump. Ryo came over to me, hands out in a peaceful stance, trying to calm me. "Have you ever heard of robots doing this!"  
"No, but it doesn't mean some evil scientist created a couple freaks and set them loose," Ryo added. "Mia, Kento and Cye talked to this girl. That's what she said."  
"Yeah, uh ha, robots, right, and Robots want girl's blood for a sacrifice!" I screamed in Ryo's face. "I want to talk to someone with brains! I'm sick of lame-ass excuses like robots! This isn't even a normal killer! Who does this kind of thing! You'd have to be the sickest, most perverted, monster in the world to." I stopped ranting long enough to see Sage had stepped out of the house.  
"If it helps, we don't think it's a robot either," Sage beckoned us inside. Rowen was tapping the kitchen table, thinking hard. Cye had stopped the cooking to sit down; waiting on the big discussion that floated in the air. "Rowen? Any new ideas?"  
"She's of priestess descent," Rowen stated flatly. "But, she's not the authentic thing. I don't know if there is an authentic heathen priestess around anymore. Sure, you have versions." Rowen looked up at Sage. "Sage knows something."  
"Well, I've been having dreams about this girl, and she's.special, and she shows up in my dreams a lot," Kento raised an eyebrow, but this made sense. Thankfully a couple of them were seriously thinking. "I tried to talk to her last night, ask her questions, but I couldn't find her."  
"She's a dream," Ryo waved a hand. "She couldn't answer a single question."  
"Well, she's done it before, kind of, but not a direct question, but I've had.actual conversations with her before."  
"Real conversation?" I stammered. "So, you think.she's the answer? My friend said something about wanting the blood for a sacrifice."  
"Yeah, that seems to be on track," Rowen scratched his head. "We're overlooking something important. Let's try why?" Silence floated over the room.  
"Offering to an angry god?" Kento stammered. "I don't know! They want a priestess dead."  
"Who," I whispered. "That's the real question. To just enjoy killing, torturing for the thrill of it." I gasped, realizing I had the answer with a burst of lightheadedness. Inda: Thanks for the request to include Mia. I'm not the biggest fan of Mia/Ronin romances, but she can be part of the story, never the less. 


	7. Sada

Chapter Six: Sada  
"STOP!" Rocking back and forth wasn't working. "JUST GO AWAY!" I pulled my head between my arms, cradling the heaviness that lay there. But the burning was the worst. It seared my skin, consuming beyond point of sight, overriding my nerves until I couldn't move to scrape my own chest.  
"LEAVE!" I howled in anger. Visions of yesterday flashed in my mind. It was the first time I had cut the sacred star. She was dead, lying at my feet. My people hadn't kept her safe while I fought to keep them safe, and I took out my silver blade, cutting my star.  
"Fourhundredyearspastandgone, fourhundredyearspastandgone, fourhundredyearspastandgone." slurring left my mouth as deep emotional pain that had been suppressed by cutting the star echoed throughout my body. I could feel heat and light, though, exploding from the candle ring, keeping me in and presumably the entire Dynasty out. "LET ME GO!"  
I could see her in my mind.the hair.those eyes.like sweet, dark shade with sun gently coming down.her lips.I could hear her voice.and it haunted me. I hadn't been haunted for quite a long time, and I had used Dynasty magic to cure it, but here, the Dynasty's powers couldn't reach. Memories crashed into my consciousness again of her face, her simple, earthen beauty unhidden by clothing. How had I forgotten?  
Light stabbed through my eyes. I heard a splintering sound. "AH!" I felt my retinas burn as a smell of sweet rose, cherry, and spice fragrances reached my nose.  
I was standing outside, under the blooming cherry tree, waiting in a black kimono, as nervous as possible. I turned as she came out to join me, dressed beautifully in a white kimono with beautiful rose embroidered into the fine silk. Her long, ebony hair was pulled up with jade hairpins with two pearls a piece, and she was the perfection of all women.Sada.Sada.Sada.Sada.Sada.I had been forever since I had thought her name, ages since I remembered that moment. "Sada," a simple whisper left my lips.  
Ages stood still as I moved, wincing at the pain in my chest. I had curled up into a fetal position near the center of the circle, practically at the foot of the casket. I swallowed, unbelieving as to what I had uttered. I stared out of blurred eyes at the flaming candles, now seemingly normal. I tilted to look at the casket, hardly moving. It had broken in pieces. All that remained was a pile of clay and dust. I blinked, trying to see the priestess, and then I saw a hand. It barely poked out of the rubble, but I could identify it only by three fingertips.  
  
"Priestess," I groped for my voice and managed a hoarse whisper. "Show yourself."  
The wait could have been centuries, or only minutes, but the hand finally moved. She coughed, and began to scatter the dust from on top of her. I choked, dust filling my already murky vision, and I saw no part of her. "Be merciful," I whispered and a cough followed it. "Be merciful to those who don't know whom they disturb."  
She coughed a little, and whispered, "May I ask your name?" I choked again, opening my eyes, trying to look up at her, but pain racked my body, and I yelled out.  
"S." I gagged on the dust. "Sada." I heard her voice. If I could open my eyes, I could see and know for sure whether an illusion stood in front of me or not.  
"Why.am I deceived?" Her voice was a simple whisper. I felt movement near my body as I strained to see, but to no avail. She began to remove my helmet from my head, and when the weight was fully gone, I heard her gasp. "Dais." 


	8. A Ghost from the Past

Chapter Seven: A Ghost from the Past  
"Dais," she choked out my name a second time, and I strained my dusted vision. I heard movement, but I couldn't tell where she moved. "What.what.this is a strange place.and I have never seen you in a dream.oh.oh.this is real."  
I coughed, still not finding strength to rub the dust out of my eyes and see. I forced myself up into some kind of sitting position, finding my hands in time to rub my eyes. The tears came shortly after I rid a large majority of the dust out. Blinking cleared my vision to the point where it could see defiant shapes and colors, and there in front of me, stood Sada, hair hanging down, and a loose red dress, covered with dust, and she stared at me.  
"God, you're supposed to be dead!" Sada frowned a little. Damn, this threw my entire order upside down! "You've been dead for four-hundred freaking years!"  
"I'm not dead," Sada answered quietly. "I.remember being stabbed in the gut, and.after that.I would dream about people and talk to them, but.I was never dead."  
"You were so! You were dead when I found you!" I abruptly stood. "You died! I couldn't hear your heart!"  
Sada stepped forward, and squinted. "Dais, if it's been four-hundred years, why are you alive?" What? Oh, Talpa. How was I supposed to explain that to Sada? I had turned my life over to a demon bent on conquest for four hundred long years, vowing to take revenge on humanity. "What aren't you telling me?"  
"Nothing!" I yelled at her, pulling back from the hand that threatened to touch my face. I turned away from her because I couldn't bear to look at her innocent face.  
"Do you love.another?" Sada whispered. I laughed.  
"No, I could never do that," I sighed. I committed something much worse than loving another. I cursed myself silently. My star should have told me all these years she still lived.  
"Then, what do you hide? Where are we?" Sada turned to step out of the ring. I grabbed her fiercely by the arm. The magic of this ring is what kept Talpa from sensing us, creating a magic buffer. I couldn't feel his calling inside this ring.  
"Don't step outside. You'll be killed," I pulled her back in, and then, she was so close to me, and unwittingly, I had placed my hand on her shoulder. I couldn't react as she squinted in confusion, stroking the hair out of my face, staring at me, questions floating through her eyes.  
"What does this mean?" Sada asked. "Where have I been for all this time?"  
"In a casket, buried in a tomb," I answered. "Asleep, I guess, but you might as well have been dead." Sada pondered my words, eyes wondering in thought, even as she faced me, stroking my hair.  
"Love, where have you been? Didn't you feel me calling you?" I pulled away quickly, turning my head from her, no where to go but outside the ring. Where had I been? Every decision haunted me. "Who."  
"You did! I thought you were dead, so this is what happened! It's all your fault!" I regretted my pathetic attempt to hide the truth as tears filled up Sada's dark eyes. "I.um." I tried to recover as two small streaks cleared away the dust on her cheeks.  
"You.meant that." More tears fell down her cheeks. "This is what brought you here. It's not a lie."  
"I." but it was the truth. Sada's death drove me to Talpa to seek revenge. I had embarrassed all aspects of evil second, throwing away larger portions of my soul than I realized until now. "I." stuttering got me no where, but I couldn't tell her. It would brake her heart.  
"Dais, where is here?" Sada backed up a little, allowing a person's shoulder length between us. "I deserve to know this, since I have been brought here for death."  
"This is.an evil place ruled by a demon. You're his sacrifice of power," the truth of it cut deeper than knives to my heart, and I felt true pain in my soul, the first time in four hundred years.  
"Oh," Sada whispered. She stared at me intently. She looked around the room for a moment, and then faced me again, a sorrowful look in her eyes. It broke what was left of my heart. "Oh, he was the one," I choked as she spoke those words. "For four hundred years, you've served a demon who deems me worthy of blood sacrifice, believing me dead." 


	9. Something like Hell

Chapter Eight: Something like Hell  
Stumbling along in darkness, I called out, "Lady! Lady! You're in danger! Lady! I can help you!" I felt something in the darkness, but it fell beyond my feeble reach. Lady, oh Lady, where were you hiding? I tripped along the wall, falling down into the darkness, only to have a faint tint of light falling across my eyes. "Damn."  
"Can't find her?" Rowen stood over me, wiping my sweaty forehead. I shook my head, mouth going into a straight line.  
"She might be in the Netherworld now," which meant we'd have to go in and get her. "Are we going to find her?"  
"I don't know," Rowen frowned. "We don't know where she is, or even if she's alive."  
"I'll know if she dies. There's a mental connection between us, and if she goes, I know I'll feel it, but she's just out of reach right now," I rubbed away the remnants of a headache.  
"Poor girl," Mia came in from the kitchen. "I can't believe you guys are even considering not rescuing her!"  
"Of course we're going to save the babe," Kento came in the room.  
"You better," Mia shot Kento a death look. "I bet she's going through hell."  
  
My throat became speechless with Sada's realization, but as we met eyes, she knew the truth. Sada closed her eyes, sorrow filling her features. "Fate has taken us here."  
I gazed at the ring of candles, our only protection. Would the other warlords come into find me, talking with Sada? They wouldn't have a qualm about killing her. She wasn't their four hundred-year-old lover. I stared at her, looking around the room, understanding seeping into her brain.  
"This ring can't keep us safe for long." Sada turned back to me, taking a half step forward. She stared down at the ground, a question lingering behind her gaze, and she looked up. "Will you kill me?" I tumbled backwards, almost falling on the candles, and only by grace did Sada grab both my arms, pulling me up.  
"N, n, no," I stuttered. "I..."  
"If it was another, you would," Sada condemned me coldly, eyes looking at the ground. I found no words to her accusation, and she didn't look up for a while. Her gaze finally transfixed mine again, but she said no words, painful truth passed between us, and I stared away.  
"Dais, he's going to kill me," Sada stated stiffly. "You know it full well." I turned back to her calm, saddened features, but not a tear passed down her cheeks. Silence swam between us, no words coming from my dry, dusty throated.  
"You have nothing to say to this?" Sada stated calmly. I found no strength to open my mouth. "If that is so, go find your master, for there is nothing left. I am but a corpse to you, and soon that is what I'll be anyway, so please, do as you've been commanded." But I stood, utterly transfixed on Sada, even after her harsh retribution, I found no strength to leave her. She frowned, tears crowding her eyes. Sada walked forward, close enough to touch me.  
She slapped me upside the jaw, squarely across the cheek, and my head swung to the side, stinging from her force. "If my memory wasn't enough to stop you from serving him, why should I be?" I know, they're all so short, SsoV, but that's how they're going to be for right now. It's not a long fanfic, and this is about the middle, if you must know. Changed my mind about Mia/Sage. They'll be a little flirting later on, because I needed a good filler, and it worked. Extra note: thanks, I didn't have time for an online preview of this chapter, and I didn't expect there to be no space when I changed viewpoints! 


	10. Decision

Chapter Nine: Decision  
"Dais!" Cale met me in the hallway. "Where have you been? Did you open the casket?"  
"Yes, she's ready," I pushed past Cale. Numb insides kept me from doing much. I obeyed her. I sent her to her death, but I couldn't kill her. No, evil failed to claim a small speck of my soul. I shut the heavy, wooden door that led to my bedroom, staring at my reflection. I took off my sub armor, staring at the faded green star with the blue outline and simple yellow center with a red morning lily fixed in it. The eternal symbol marriage among our people refused to die on my skin.  
"Fool!" I threw my silver blade at the mirror. Silver shards rained across the dresser, a couple found my skin. They rained down upon the wood as my tears rained down upon my cheeks. "You're responsible for her death!"  
The truth whispered its way out of my mouth. I swallowed the knot in my throat, fingering the star. Sada would be a blood sacrifice any moment now. I threw on my sub armor as Talpa summoned me. I dried up my eyes quickly, putting on my full armor to hide my facial expressions. "Yes, Master?" I mumbled half-heartedly as I appeared last in Talpa's throne room.  
"Well, the champion has returned," Sekhmet growled. "Any victory songs for us?"  
"Dais, Cale," Talpa snapped. "The Ronin warriors are pestering us along the outer gates. Go make sure they don't interfere with this. Sekhmet, go get the girl ready for sacrifice. I'm going to perform it tonight before there are any major set backs."  
With that, I dumbly bowed, following Cale to the outer gates. I swallowed hard, an unwilling feeling in my gut. I didn't want to fight. I didn't want any of this any more, but before I knew it, I stood on the wall above the outer gates. I could see the five of them below, banging their way over to us, but I didn't care.  
Cale commanded an attack, but as soon as Strata turned up to attack me, I jumped away. Sada lingered on my mind, and I felt no fighting urge. Hardrock joined in to help Strata, but I dodged their attacks, vomit rising up from my stomach. What the hell was I doing, serving Talpa? Revenge? Why the hell hadn't I taken revenge in four hundred years? Was fighting the Ronin Warriors revenge?  
"Damn this," I turned away from the battle, disappearing into the castle. I raced down the halls, going straight to find Sekhmet. I turned into the room, busting through the door where Sekhmet stroked a very naked Sada. I struck him before he realized.  
"We're leaving," I turned to Sada. She gasped, putting her red dress back on. Her eyes narrowed at she looked at me. "I don't care what you say, but you're not staying here anymore, and neither am I."  
  
(Cye)  
"Man, where'd he go?" Kento yelled. I knocked out another Tin Can on the head, turning around to see what Kento was talking about.  
"Who?" I went over to Kento.  
"Dais! We were kicking his butt, but he just up and left!" Kento fumed. "The girly boy just ran away from us!" I looked around, but only Cale remained by Ryo and Sage, and they seemed to be handling him quite fine. Then, Cale disappeared.  
"What's up with this?" Ryo fumed. "We came here to fight, and they run off!"  
"I think we're in the wrong place," Rowen frowned. "The Dynasty just doesn't let anyone walk through the door."  
"Maybe she's not in there," Sage frowned. "Maybe they took her to a special spot. Let's go home and ask Mia if she found anything else out." Kento grumbled out something about having our chance to kick their butt.  
"Well, Sage, you're the authority on sacrificial priestesses as offerings," Ryo poured on the sarcasm, but we ended up sitting back in the living room, staring at Mia that afternoon, stuffing our faces with TV dinners. The sun began to set over the lake behind the manor.  
"You think she's somewhere else?" Mia mused. "I can't honestly think of any where she would be, but I don't know much about her."  
"The star!" Sage slapped his forehead. "She had a tattoo. It's a green star. I drew a picture of it after I saw her in my dream. I'll go get if for you." Sage came back down with a sketchpad, handing it to Mia. She frowned, studying the star.  
"I don't know what good this will do, but I'll see if I can find anything like this in records. See you boys tomorrow." Mia grabbed her purse and left the house. I sighed, staring at everyone else.  
"That was a weird one today," everyone nodded.  
"Yeah, I've never see the warlords just turn tail and run away," Rowen bit his bottom lip. "I've never seen anything like it before, you know, they usually fight until we absolutely kick their butts, but Dais didn't do anything at all."  
"Maybe they had to go sacrifice the girl." I stared at Sage's worried eyes. "What if they've begun the sacrifice?" 


	11. The River

Chapter Ten: The River  
"Dais, where are you taking me?" I picked up Sada, racing out of the room, trying to escape before Talpa realized my disobedience. Pain seared across my temples, blinding me, but I knew these halls. I breathed hard, jerking myself around a corner. "Dais!"  
"I can't see!" I screamed as my skull fell under pressure from Nether Spirits. I choked, feeling my legs slow up. "Sada!" She chanted quietly under her breath, but the stiffness in my limbs ceased, and I continued racing down the halls, finding the first set of stairs. When I raced towards the second set, I could see remotely well. Sada's chanting never ceased, actually becoming more incessant.  
"Dais," she breathed quickly, staring up the chant again. I landed on the ground floor of the palace, fighting my way through some soldiers to get to the spiral stairs that led underground.  
"We're going deep under the palace. Talpa built this place across a special river that connects the mortal and nether realms, hoping to use it as an easy access, but it didn't quite work out because the river contains exceptionally good magic." Sada nodded as I descended past the lower chambers, coming to the dungeons. I raced across the dungeon halls, heading deeper than I've ever been in the Dynasty.  
The black abyss loomed below, an endless pit where bodies of Talpa's prisoners lay. The dead, shortly to be deceased and all whose fate was to die a slow, agonizing death got dumped down into the void, the lowest point of the castle. The door lay at the bottom, covered in hundreds of years of decaying flesh and bone. I walked to the edge, Sada's chanting becoming shaky with probable thoughts of what lay below.  
"Walking out on me," Cale growled. "I think Talpa wants a word with you."  
"I'm making my exit."  
"Exactly. You'll go down to hell, and I'll make sure your little babe joins you."  
"See you there," struck out at Cale. Weapon to weapon, we clashed in unfair combat, me with Sada in my arms. I kicked out Cale's legs, throwing Sada over the side, facing Cale one last time. He stood, striking me in the thigh, the sword piercing my armor, blood flowing freely from the wound. I countered, throwing myself over the edge.  
The bones and rotting flesh dampened my fall. I heard Sada's frantic breathing. I scuttled over to her. I gather my strength and piggybacked Sada, standing on both legs. Grimacing in pain, I powered all my strength through the mass of flesh and bone. The decay lay thicker than I thought, and it took a couple more attacks before I jumped down to blood stained dirt. I saw nothing, squinting over the earth, hopping to see anywhere that might be a door.  
"What are we looking for?" Sada's raspy voice called me.  
"A door. Some kind of seal leading below here," I ran my armored hands over the floor, searching for a raised seal or indented lines of a door, and anything that felt different.  
"Dais," Sada called. "There's some raising over here, and it doesn't feel as dirty." I crawled over to her voice, as my thigh wound seeping more blood on the ground. I ran my hand over the smooth curves carved up out of the earth. I followed them, clearing some bone piles as I went, feeling my way to an indented crater. I crawled down inside the small indent. I groped out in the darkness, finding Sada, and piggybacked her. I thrust my weapons at the earth, feeling them rebounded by impenetrable spells. The complexity of the spells stunned me so I couldn't even decipher their basic make-up.  
"We're trapped," I sunk down into the bottom of the crater. Strange flashes of light came across my vision, and my head felt light and detached from my shoulders. Shaking made me dizzier, but then, real light stung my retinas. I peered down at the crater began to open. Sada whispered quiet prayers, lying on where the opening formed. I stumbled over, grabbing her by the waist, jumping downwards into uncharted territory.  
I landed wrong, falling on the damp earth. I cried out, pains firing up my leg. I must have shattered my kneecap, even through the armor. All the power I once possessed felt drained out of my being. I lay there, listening for a moment.  
My heart beat in my chest, pulsing its rhythm through my ears and unbroken limbs. A faint sound of swishing reach my ears, calming me, making me lay still upon the group. My vision blurred, but I couldn't see much to begin with.  
"Dais!" Sada's voice reached me. She was so close.  
"Looks like I'll be the one to die this time." And with whatever little right I had left to pray, safe passing to the next life.  
  
Thanks for the reviews. Anything else I need to know? Review if time permits. Anything you do not like, please tell. Thanks, MorganRay. 


	12. Rescue

Chapter Eleven: Rescue  
(Sage)  
Sweat dripped down my face and acute pains filled my chest. I placed my hands on my head, forbidding myself to move until the moment of dizziness and illness passed. I stumbled up, going to the bathroom and taking some Tylenol without waking anyone. I walked quietly down to the kitchen, pulling out a bowl and loading it with cereal. Maybe eating would stop the shaking.  
I exerted myself again in my sleep. I pressed onwards, but last night, there was immense pain as I searched, and the little cave went up in fire. A powerful, swift current drowned me in my to-real dream, and I couldn't sleep any longer. "We have to find her."  
"I know," Mia slipped into the kitchen.  
"Did I wake you?" Mia Koji, the unofficial big sister, sat across the table, slight bags under her eyes. She still looked beautiful, though, and I enjoyed being alone with her. She treated everyone else like her kid brother, but when it was just Mia and I, there was something different.  
"No," Mia stretched. She smiled at me. "I couldn't sleep anyway. You look sick."  
"The dream was horrible. I drowned in the little cave where I met her."  
"Is she dead?" Mia whispered. I shrugged.  
"I think I'd be different." I leaned against the edge of the table. Maybe cereal hadn't been the best idea. Mia scrambled for the wastebasket, putting her hand on my back.  
"Okay?" She asked quietly. I sat up, nodding. "Let's go outside and take a walk. If you do feel sick, you won't have to clean it up."  
"Thanks." Mia laughed as she headed towards the screen door, me right behind her. Crisp, cool morning air refreshed my sense, sending the bile down my throat. The gray dawn held no echo of bird song, only the splashing of baby waves from the lake in the distance and a rustle of leaves in the refreshing breeze. I stared out at the faint golden streaks across the lake. The clouds tinted a soft yellow on the underside, signaling a beautiful sunrise.  
"Let's walk the lake," I suggested, taking up stride with Mia. We ambled towards the shore. "It's going to be a lovely sunrise." Mia's smile filled me with a serene sense.  
"Honestly, I'm never up this early in the summer," Mia turned towards me. "You're always up early, though."  
"The morning is peaceful. I like everything before the other four throw themselves out into my world."  
"Yeah," Mia laughed. "They're great, but you're definitely the mature one. I thought Rowen might be because he's oldest, but man, Sage, after I met you, there was no doubt."  
"Really? Am I that much of an odd ball?"  
"No, it's a good thing. It's part of what makes me like you. You listen, understand, and generally care." Mia stared at me sincerely. I could feel myself blush. She smiled when I did. "Did I mention you're really cute?"  
"You sure know how to flatter people."  
"Aw, no, it's the truth. I don't like excess crap," Mia waved her hand. "No point in telling someone something that's not true."  
"Any more stunning truths?" I met Mia's gaze. She blushed this time, and I laughed. She put her toe in the sand, smiling.  
"Maybe," she grinned as she walked forward. I followed her, admiring her hair as the golden sun glinted across it. The lake burned with golden fire as the clouds because visions from heaven. The world awoke, causing birds to sing and this moment to seem stunning and romantic.  
"I've got something to tell you," I touched Mia's shoulder. "You're beautiful in this light."  
"Hmm, well, I would say the same," Mia sighed. "Sage...you honestly are beautiful." I smiled and blushed, but stared right back at Mia. She touched a lock of my hair. "Your hair, it makes you have a halo."  
I laughed. "That's a nice joke." Mia laughed, too, and began to walk again.  
"It wasn't intended, honestly, but that's just what it looked like. I'm not one for cheesy jokes," Mia looked up at the clouds, sucking in a breath. "This is the most beautiful sunrise in ages."  
"Yes," I stared out at the lakeshore. We were barely in sight of the manor, coming to the part of the L shaped lake that wasn't visible from the manor. My eyes trained over the orange, gold, and pink water, and then to the shore in the distance. I squinted, seeing a lump at the edge of the lake.  
"Mia, do you see that?" I walked over the spot. Mia followed behind me, squinting into the distance.  
"Yeah, it looks like an animal. Be careful!" I walked silently up to the blob at the edge of the lake, and as I got closer, I began to make out a shape. A person of some sort lay at the lakeshore!  
I scrambled out into the water, where the shape partially hidden. I reached down, pulling on shoulders. I gasped, frozen in place.  
She lay at my feet. The star showed on her exposed chest, which rose and fell with gentle breaths. Her wet figure lay there, but not alone. A male lay naked beside her, as well, wrapped up in her arms. I removed the straggly, white hair from his face, falling to the sand from recognition.  
"Sage?" Mia asked hesitantly from about a foot behind me.  
"Go, get the guys, Mia! GO!" I shouted toward her, finally finding my voice. I pulled the two forms out of the water. Dais's bad eye was easily recognizable, but why was he with this girl? I stared down at the two unconscious forms, trying to decipher the meaning of this crap.  
I frowned down at Dais, looking at his chest. A green star with the strange flower tattoo lay perfectly etched on his skin just like hers. "Wow, there needs to be some explanation," I whispered to myself.  
"Sage!" I turned towards Cye and Ryo, both racing at breakneck speed down the beach.  
"It's her!" Kento, Rowen, and Mia followed shortly after. Ryo and Cye's eyes widened as they looked at the two unconscious figures at my feet.  
"What the hell?" Kento blurted out. I frowned, turning to my friend. "What is he doing here?"  
"That's the girl?" Rowen asked. I nodded. He frowned, walking forward, braking the weird trance that had set over us. "Come on, Kento, help me! Sage, Ryo, grab her! Cye, Mia, we'll need beds and clothes." I grabbed the girl's feet and Ryo grabbed her shoulders, and we carefully took her up to the manor. Cye had prepared Mia's bedroom for her and that's where we laid her.  
"Looks like you don't have to dream search for your lady," Mia sat on the couch, waiting for me and Ryo to come down. Cye was still busy changing Ryo's sheets and fixing his room.  
"Yeah, but man, this is weird," Ryo plopped down next to Mia. "I mean, we look for her, and she washes up on shore with Dais! By the way, what were you two doing at the beach this morning?"  
I punched Ryo's shoulder.  
  
Thank you for reviewing, this story is about half way done. Here is the big interaction between Mia and Sage, and even though the pairing isn't my favorite, this is my take on the Mia/Sage pairing. Thanks, MorganRay. 


	13. Dais's Story

Chapter Twelve: Dais's Story  
(Dais)  
The warmth seeped into my skin as I vaguely floated between consciousness and oblivion. Was this real? Could I actually be in heaven? Had I been redeemed at the last minute? Had my prayers been heard?  
No, I watched the ceiling of a house swirl above me. A house, no, that's not right. There were no little cozy cottage houses in the Netherworld. Where was I? I waited, before getting up, letting the images of swirling neon colors stop.  
I slowly sat up in my bed. It was a comfortable bed with soft, clean sheets that smelled of flowers. I blinked, trying to adjust my view better. I stared around at posters of various people of impotence hanging on the wall, idols of some kind in the mortal world. I paused, looking across the room, jumping when I saw a second figure.  
I reached for my kanji, but it wasn't there. No, I needed my kanji because Rowen of the Strata sitting on the bed next to me couldn't be a good sign.  
"Well, finally woke up?" His voice laid on sarcasm. "I see you've brought us a priestess. Gee, so, when did you plan to kill her?"  
"Shut up," I quickly told the Ronin. He smirked, rapping on the door that led to the room. The door opened ushering in Halo, Torrent, and Wildfire. They looked over at me, stiff looks on the faces of Wildfire and Torrent, but well, I didn't expect anything else of them.  
"What can you tell us about her?" Halo sat down across from me on the other bed, and the others followed suit. "We need to know."  
"Why?" The idea of the Ronin Warriors knowing a lot about Sada didn't appeal to me. "What makes this your business?"  
"Sage has seen her in a dream, dick," Wildfire unleashed his tongue. I grinned. Well, I hadn't expected anything less.  
"A dream about my Sada?" I choked, realizing I had told more than I wanted to let them know.  
"Sada, is it?" Strata grinned. "Oh, so you're on a first name basis? Like to get to know your victims before you take their life? I'd let you interview me, but I'm not planning to become one of your victims, too."  
"You're very sarcastic," I told Strata. He rolled his eyes. Sage frowned.  
"Listen, I think you don't understand how much we need to know this information about Sada. Tell me all you know." Halo protested strongly, brushing off the comments of his companions.  
"It's none of your business," I said frankly. "Sada is my concern."  
"Bull crap!" Torrent exclaimed. "We have just as much right to know as you! Sage saw her in a dream! We've been trying to save her!"  
"You've been doing a good job, haven't you?" I responded sarcastically. "You can't save her. She's probably dead by now."  
"Dead? Really? That's too bad, because I think we found her with you, washed up on our lake shore," Strata leaned across, meeting my eyes. "What do you think about that?"  
"She's alive! How did she, she shouldn't have, I mean, why is she alive? Why am I alive? Neither of us should be alive!" I stopped, feeling the realization wipe over me.  
"She found the river!"  
"What the hell?" Rowen rolled his eyes. "What river?"  
"Sada's here, and where is she? I need to see her! You don't understand I need to talk to her! I need to know how she lived," I looked at all their faces, totally unrelenting.  
"Can't do until you tell us more," Sage shook his head. "I might consider it, but I'd like to hear more of this story. Start with that stupid star on your chest."  
"Did you take my kanji?" I asked them, remembering I was defenseless and naked. This wasn't a good position.  
"No, but it makes it easier for us if you don't have it," Wildfire smirked. "So, answer Sage's question."  
"What will you do I refuse? Torture me?" I felt trapped between a wall and the edge of a cliff, with no way out but to answer something about Sada. No, she's my love, and my business is absolutely none of their concern.  
"You're at our mercy," Strata stood up, towering over me. He certainly was taller than the rest, even taller than I was. "Naked and defenseless, so that means I don't even need any kind of armor to take a couple cheap shots."  
"Down," Torrent grabbed Strata's hand, pulling him down on the bed. He scowled. "Just talk to Sage. He pulled you out of the lake, anyway."  
"So, feeling sorry for me, are you?" I couldn't believe that sappy, girly Halo had pulled Sada and me to safety. He probably had no idea we washed out from the Dynasty. "Do you know where my kanji is?"  
"Answer my questions, first," Sage gazed into my eyes. His lavender eyes looked slightly ticked, but more confused than annoyed. Well, he mostly wanted answers, which made me grin slightly, but also, confused me. Why didn't they just torture me to death? Didn't they hate us?  
"Why am I not dead?" I asked quietly.  
"Well, we need answers," Wildfire rolled his eyes. "Everyone isn't a dick like the Dynasty."  
"Oh, well," I considered what to tell them. "What do you want to know first?"  
"The star," Halo stated calmly. "Just tell me about the star and what it means."  
"It's the star of my..." my people? No, not quite right. "Of an ancient culture. The green part is sketched into your skin after taking an oath when you're young, and everyone has them."  
"The flower?" Halo nodded, pleased that we were getting some where.  
"The flower and center coloring are placed there when you're married," I answered dryly. Halo paused, eyes widening. He looked up at me, and I couldn't help grinning. "I hope that clarified everything for you."  
"No, but..." Halo held up at hand to Wildfire.  
"That's good for now. We'll sit here to Dais tells us more," Halo propped himself up against the wall, staring curiously at me. Damn, I shouldn't have told me. This boy was smarter than I thought.  
  
(Kento)  
"So, she's sleeping?" I asked Mia dumbly. She nodded, walking out of the girl's room. "Can't I go pound Dais?"  
"No," Mia rolled her eyes. "Kento, I can't county how many times you've asked that! Could you just stay here, and maybe check up on the girl? I have to go out, and I don't want you near Dais, got it? Ryo, Rowen, Sage, and Cye have that one covered. Now, walk in that room and sit on the chair by the room and watch that girl, so when she wakes up, she won't be completely alone."  
"Fine," I muttered, opening the door, about to walk into the room.  
"Poor thing," Mia sighed, looking in at her before I shut the door. I frowned, feeling sorry for the girl who washed up on the shore with Dais. What crappy luck she had, being washed up naked with him.  
The dark hair cascaded around her pale, peaceful face. She was really beautiful, I couldn't deny that one. How comes Sage got to see her in his dreams? If I could see hot chicks in my dreams, I'd NEVER wake up, for sure.  
I plopped down on the chair, watching her. I got bored about two seconds after I sat down. Beating Dais would be fun, but in their 'infinite wisdom' everyone forbade me to go near Dais.  
"You got the girl," I spoke to myself. I grinned, staring at the sleeping beauty. She mumbled something, suddenly, and I bolted in my chair, wondering if she was awake.  
"Hey, girl, you awake?" I asked her. She rolled over a little, but no sound came from her lips again. I shrugged, starting to count ceiling tiles. I hadn't ever been in Mia's room before, but it seemed stylish and very clean. Violets decorated everything, and purple was the pervading color. I stared at Mia's dresser and all the pictures she kept framed there. There were photos of Mia and her grandfather, parents, siblings, and us on the dresser, all smiling and looking very cheerful.  
I stared at the soft, beige walls, and the simple leaf border. Mia had good taste, and everything fit perfectly into place. Her beige and light pastel purple and green bed comforter lay over the girl again.  
I stared back at the main attraction. She slept on, and this was getting old, fast. I walked over to her, staring down at her, squinting to see if maybe she'd look different if I did.  
Brown eyes with a tint of yellow around the edge stared up at me. A shocked look ran through her face. "Oh my god!" She jumped up, and I jumped back, falling over Mia's nightstand.  
"Who are you?" The girl looked over at me. "Where am I?"  
"Whoa, you scared the crap out of me!" I stood up, laughing now. She frowned, giving me a curious stare.  
"Where am I?" She asked again with less tenseness.  
"You're in the humble home of the Ronin Warriors, in Mia Koji's bedroom," I waved my arms around. She smiled slightly. "I'm your gracious host, Kento Muan Fei, and you are perfectly safe in my awesome company."  
"That is very nice to know, but I'm not quite sure what's going on," the girl frowned.  
"Well, you're in the home of the good guys, and that bad ass demon that wanted to kill you won't touch you," I grinned at her, and she stared at the wall, smile fading.  
"Where's Dais? I need to talk to him," she looked back at me, more urgent than before.  
"Oh, that jerk is fine," I waved my hand. "You're fine now, and he won't touch you."  
"No, you see, I think you don't understand what's going on either," the girl frowned, a look of sadness in her eyes.  
"Of course I do," I walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You got kidnapped by the evil Dynasty, washed up with Dais some how, and we're going to save you."  
"No, Kento, you don't understand."  
She took my chin and turned my face directly towards hers. Her eyes were solemn, but still very beautiful. Something about her seemed...upset?...confused?...unhappy? Man, this girl showed so many emotions at one time, it boggled my mind how she could do that.  
"Do you know Dais?" She asked quietly.  
"Well, I've fought him and kicked his butt a couple times," I smiled. She shook her head, frowning deeper. Oh yeah, that helped.  
"I see," she sighed, looking out the window. "Let me tell you a story, Kento, since all your intentions are pure."  
"Listening," I replied, watching her space off. She turned back to me, a small smile on her face.  
"Four hundred some years ago, I was to be married. My wedding day was beautiful. I got the star completed with the flower in the center to be identical to my husband's star. Kento, I married Dais," she looked out the window again, smile still on her face.  
"WHAT?" I finally reacted. "You did what?"  
"I married him," she sighed, a looked of sadness coming over her face. She faced me again, telling the story. "The night of our wedding, Dais was called off to battle. Our village was raided and sacked, and I became badly injured. Apparently, my love mistook me for dead. However, I obviously wasn't dead, and was preserved as the last priestess of our clan."  
"Whoa, that's messed up."  
"Yes, and Dais pledged himself to a demon because he thought me dead."  
"That's crazy, I mean, come on, you're pretty and all, but I don't think I'd pledge myself off to serve Talpa if some girl died," I snorted. She tried to smile, but just shook her head.  
"I've not been dead, though, and I've seen things in dreams over the years I must have rested. I woke up with my love, how long ago, I don't know, in the castle of his demon master, and found all of this out."  
"How did you get out of Talpa's castle?"  
"Dais took me from his master's other servants and took me to a secret exit. It's deep under the castle, and when we reached it, my love passed out. Is he alive?"  
"Yeah, Dais is here," I watched her smile slightly.  
"Well, that is good, for I thought him dead, but the river he took us to, it emanated healing power. I grabbed Dais and threw us both into the water. Then, I woke here," the girl frowned at me.  
"Well, that's odd," I was dumbfounded. She jumped into a river and lived. "I mean, the thing with the river, not the rest of the story, how Dais went all psycho and all."  
"I need to talk to him, find out why we're alive." She frowned. "Where am I, again?"  
"In the Koji manor, with the Ronin Warriors, and you're safe in the mortal world." She nodded.  
"Where was I?"  
"You were in Talpa's castle, with a demon and his army, in the Netherworld," I answered quietly to the confused girl. She nodded.  
"Thank you, Kento, but I need to see Dais, now, no matter how much you may dislike him."  
  
Please review, thank you, MorganRay. 


	14. Reunion

Chapter Thirteen: Reunion  
(Sage)  
"Why are you being so damn stubborn!" Rowen shouted at Dais who, after telling me his secret, went abruptly quiet. I stared at his one good eye that refused to stare back, gazing around the room.  
"I want to see her," Dais shot me a nasty look. "Halo, let me see her."  
"Just a second, guys, I'm going to check on Kento and see if Sada's woke up," I sighed. I stood up, exiting the room.  
"What! She's with Hardrock!" Dais yelped, and a barrage of yelling for Ryo, Rowen, and Dais followed my ears down the hall. Kento opened the door to Mia's room, walking out into the hall.  
"Is she awake?" I asked quietly.  
"What's going on?" Kento's eyes were wide, staring past me at the closed door where chaotic sounds erupted.  
"Dais is pissed, and Ryo and Rowen can't control their mouths," I grinned. "No, Kento, they don't need your backup. Is she awake? I need to talk to Sada."  
"Yeah, she's up and has one hell of a weird story," Kento took me into Mia's room. The lovely priestess sat on the bed wearing Mia's clothes. She cocked her head, a surprised look going over her face when I came in.  
"You're the last man, the one in my dream," she whispered quietly. "I've seen you! Do you know my love?"  
"Yes, but I need you to tell me everything. I know you two are married, but Dais is being really stubborn, but I don't really blame him too much, and all he's saying is he wants to see you. I hope you'll tell me more because I can't help you if you don't fill me in," I sat down and faced the girl.  
"Sage, she's like four-hundred years old!" Kento blurted out. Sada nodded, meeting my eyes. "And Dais went all psycho after he thought she'd been killed, and then, he joined Talpa's demon army for some reason, and..."  
"Kento, stop," I laughed, staring at Sada. She nodded, however, and began to speak.  
"He's right, though, Dais and I supposedly have been around four- hundred years. On our wedding night, he was called to battle."  
"Wait, you have to be pure," I frowned. "A pure priestess is what the Dynasty wanted, and well, doesn't that mean you'd have to be a virgin?"  
"I am because there wasn't time. The battle was immediate," Sada smiled as I blushed. Her faced reddened a little, too. "Don't feel sorry for asking. As I said, Dais went to war, and our village was raided, and I was wounded badly and buried as the last priestess of our clan, supposedly."  
"Dais, I mean, why did he join Talpa?" I shook my head. "I know he thought you died, but your people still would have been alive, right?"  
"I don't know, but Dais gave up, and thought me dead, joining a demon's side. I wasn't awake and didn't know the scene when he found me, but I just want to talk to him," she sighed, putting her head in her hands. They both sounded exactly the same with their desire for each other.  
"How'd you escape?" I asked as Kento hovered over me.  
"Dais took me down to an abysmal pit of death," she said quietly. "His master attacked him, but a simple chat rid his presence out of Dais's mind."  
"Whoa, a simple chat stumped Talpa!" Kento blurted out. "No way! Simple chat!"  
"Go on," I silenced Kento, unbelieving what I was hearing.  
"Under the pit, at the bottom of the bones, there was an inscription. It was a seal, and I chanted, opening a very old door sealed long ago. Under this door, there was a river, but my love passed out when we reached it. I picked up my love, throwing him into the river."  
"A river? Under the Dynasty? Sada, that river must have taken you to the mortal world," I met her eyes. She shrugged, looking out the window, and then, back at me.  
"It emanated healing powers, and my love was hurt," she sighed. I stared at her soft, caring eyes. "Where did you find me?"  
"On the shore of our lake," I replied. She nodded. "Wow, that river, do you know what it's called? It took both of you out of the Dynasty, and Dais can't find his kanji."  
"Really?" Kento grinned, but quickly erased his glee. Sada cocked her head in confusion.  
"A kanji summons our armors," I pulled out mine, showing it to Sada. She studied it, rolling it on her palm, and then handing it back to me. "My armor is the armor of Halo, Kento is the armor of Hardrock, and Dais's armor is the armor of Illusions, or Summer, I guess."  
"Oh, I never knew," Sada sighed. "May I ask your name? You've been so kind when I've see you in visions, and I thank you for saving us."  
"I'm Sage," I blushed as Kento nudged my side.  
"May I see Dais?" Sada asked quietly.  
"Sure," I looked into her pleading eyes, suddenly coming to life with love and happiness. They glowed bright as the sun and emanated light brighter than stars because of love.  
"Thank you," she hugged me, and then Kento, who laughed, biting his lip.  
"What's going on in here?" Mia bust in the room. "Sage, what are you doing? Kento, if you're doing anything remotely obscene..."  
"No, Mia, I think Sada needs to see Dais. They're married, Mia, and it's a long story, but basically Dais got Sada out of the Netherworld and betrayed Talpa," I grinned slightly. Mia raised her eyes, nodding. I walked out in the hallway, holding up a finger to tell Kento and Sada it wouldn't take long.  
"So, what's going on?" Mia whispered when I closed the door.  
"Sada, the priestess, is married to Dais, and they got out of the Dynasty by jumping in a healing river. Dais is missing his kanji," Mia raised her eyes comprehending the news. She nodded for me to tell her more. "The crazy thing is Sada seems to have powers that null Talpa's. She kept Talpa from interfering with their escape, Mia, and I'd really like to know more about that river."  
"Okay," Mia frowned, brow furrowing in thought. A lock of brunette hair fell across her face. "I guess the questionings went well."  
"No, Dais won't tell us anything, and Sada told Kento and I a lot, but we've come to a deadlock. They won't do anything unless they can see each other," Mia smiled slightly. She giggled, eyes sparkling with flares of romance.  
"That's sweet," Mia sighed. I'd never seen her act like a five-year- old in love before. I tapped her shoulder, snapping her out of her newly found romantic mood. "We're going to let them see each other."  
"I told Sada yes, but I have to go get Dais. You can go make sure Sada gets dressed," I walked into the other room to see Dais stiffly sitting, sullenly looking away from three very pissed Ronins.  
"Dais, what clothing size do you wear?" I asked. He turned towards me, eyes tired and angry. "You can see Sada, but we'd all prefer you dressed."  
"I..." Dais practically jumped towards the door, eyes going from stewing and bitter to excited and alert. It sort of resembled Mia's mood swing.  
"No," Rowen groaned. "Sage, don't do it."  
"You'll have to argue with Mia, too, if that's the way you feel because we've decided it's best after talking to Sada," I explained. Cye frowned, opening his drawers. He threw out a couple pairs of jeans on the floor. "See, Cye's being good."  
"I don't need help dressing," Dais replied, picking up a pair of jeans, studying them over. He shot us a glare, and I motioned for everyone to evacuate the room. I shut the door and posted Ryo, Rowen, and Cye in front of it before heading back down to see Kento standing in front of Mia's door.  
"Girls," Kent rolled his eyes. "Mia wanted to help her pick out the 'right outfit.' Come on, what doesn't a pair of jeans and T-shirt pull off? If you ask me, that's the perfect outfit for everything."  
"Kento," I shook my head as Mia's door opened up and Sada stepped out. Her black hair still hung down, and she wore a gold chain with a little heart on it. The long sleeve yellow shirt fit her skinny form nicely as did her khaki pants. I stared at a pair of Mia's simple brown, pointed toe boats on her feet. "Well, Mia, you did a job."  
"She's lovely enough without me," Mia rolled her eyes. Sada looked nervously around.  
"Sada, this is Rowen, Ryo, and Cye," each extended their hand in turn to her. She shook each hand politely, smiling at each of them. "They're friends of mine."  
"I see," Sada brushed past me in a sudden flurry of movement. I spun my head around as she leapt up into the air, jumping into Dais's arms, knocking him right back in Cye's room.  
"My love!" Sada laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder. Dais found Sada's face, turning it towards him. Truthfully, I never knew the warlords could smile, but I don't think I'd ever seen someone smile like that before, just like all the rocks in the world turned to gold, and now, they were his.  
Dais smoothed Sada's hair and began to kiss her. I heard a low moan from Ryo, and a yelp as Mia nudged him in the side. Rowen rolled his eyes, tapping Kento to go down stair with him. The three of them exited. Cye just stood there, eyes raised at the scene of very intense kissing passion although Dais had started to kiss her neck and arms.  
"It's just like in the movies," Mia squeaked. I grinned at Mia. Cye looked at me, nodding his head, eyes raised as Sada let out a gentle moan. Cye let out a distinct cough, and a couple more before they stopped and turned our way.  
"Well," Sada blushed a little, but Mia just waved it off, still smiling. I never knew she was such a romantic. "Sorry we scared off your friends."  
"It's okay," Mia waved it off again. "You deserved it."  
"Like something to eat? I don't think anyone will be scared off by food," Cye smiled, turning towards the stairs. "Unless Rowen cooks it," Cye muttered as he walked towards the kitchen.  
  
(Smiles) Note: All kissing information came from personal experiences! (Laughs and smiles) Anyway, I'd like about five more reviews on this story before I post the next (already written) chapter. The sooner they come, the sooner I post, but Thanks always, MorganRay. 


	15. Coming

Chapter Thirteen: Coming  
(Dais)  
I stared around at the six faces, familiar yet strange. No flurry of rage controlled Hardrock's features, but he sat quietly, stuffing his face. No look of precious concentration motivated Halo into an attack, but he mildly chatted with Mia and Sada while he ate. Torrent wasn't pressing his lips together, fixing his sure kill aim, but placing sushi on my plate.  
However, no matter how well they hid it, Strata and Wildfire watched me carefully. Wildfire's eyes didn't hold their normal fiery rage, but a smoldering hatred, which Strata's eyes conveyed suspicious, trusting his dead on accuracy.  
"Lovely," I turned as Sada spoke to Mia. Wonder of wonders, the women were chatting like old friends. "This meal us delicious."  
"It's nothing, really," Torrent blushed slightly at Sada's comment. "I usually cook, or else it's Mia."  
"He's a good cook, and he should be a chef," Mia smiled politely. Sada nodded in return.  
"Well, we're busy at the moment," Wildfire stared at his plate, eating as he spoke. "Or else I'm sure Cye would. You know, dared . . ."  
"Schedule, and schooling," Halo cut into Wildfire's rant. "It's hard stuff."  
"I see," Sada frowned, looking up at me. She wasn't dumb, and knew perfectly well what Wildfire and Strata were getting at, but something else shown in her eyes. It wasn't love, but something else, something different, and it took me a while to place it.  
She was afraid. "What's wrong?" I spoke directly to her, although everyone silenced to hear what I was saying.  
"Clouds are coming," Sada whispered, her eyes staring off into space. "A black storm rides the wind."  
"The Dynasty," Halo rose from his seat.  
"Of course," I moaned. I'd pushed it out of my mind, the fact that they'd be coming, until this last moment. "You have to be kept safe."  
"Yes," Mia took Sada's hand, frowning when she realized there was no place to go but the house. We were trapped, in the house, and they were coming. A peel of thunder echoed across the lake outside. The door banged open with a burst of wind.  
"We'll need the armors," Torrent pushed the door shut, shoving the table against it. "Ryo? Rowen?"  
"What?" Wildfire burst out. "You want me to give him his kanji! Even if I could, I don't think I would!"  
"They're down a warlord," Halo frowned. "It'll give us an advantage."  
"No," Wildfire spat out. "Sage, he could turn on us! What makes you so sure that he'll fight with us!"  
"I'm right here!" I hated being ignored. "I think I should be part of this conversation."  
"Hell no," Hardrock was geared for battle now, dressed in his sub armor. "I'm with Ryo."  
"I need to protect Sada," I shouted.  
"We'll do that fine," Wildfire stared into my face, eyes burning with that untamed fury which he'd defeated the Dynasty with. I locked my good eye with his eyes. I would protect Sada.  
"We don't have time!" Mia shouted as a window banged open. Mia slammed it shut, putting a chair in front of it. "Dais, where is your kanji?"  
"No idea," I turned away from Wildfire. "After the river, I don't know."  
"That stupid river," Halo muttered. "What did it do?"  
"It's the river of healing," I sighed. "Talpa sealed it up because it's the original pathway to the mortal world, but using it means you'll be purified, so he made sure no one would escape through it."  
"Ah," Halo nodded. "Good, that explains a lot. Sada, what can you do? You mentioned you warded off Talpa before."  
"A chant, but that won't help," she frowned, staring up at me. "I might be able to perform a ritual on the house if you board up all the windows and door, and every gap you can think of."  
"Done," Strata ignored me with Sada's plan. "I'll do the attic, Ryo, Cye and Mia, the upstairs, and Sage, Kento, and Dais can do the first floor."  
I took the chairs, stacking them against the windows. Rain had begun to beat down outside, and Halo stuffed any cracks with paper towels and cloths. Hardrock piled furniture against the sliding glass door, moving what ever he could towards the doors and windows. I began to seal up around the windows in the den, stacking cushions and anything Hardrock didn't use against them.  
"It looks good," the other four came from the above floor. I stared at Sada, who had seated herself on the bottom step. She remained in deep meditation.  
"Don't move," she whispered. She closed her eyes, and four beams of light shot out, one to each of the Four Corners of the house. "Done."  
"That's it?" Hardrock gaped. "I mean, it was that quick?"  
"Yes," Sada nodded. "The Four Corners are protected, and that's protecting the whole house. The only way to get in would be a gap, but you sealed all those up."  
"How long can we last in here?" Strata frowned. "They're going to lay siege to this place."  
"A couple days, unless they brake through, or does the ritual wear off?" Torrent frowned at Sada.  
"No, the ritual shouldn't wear, and I can't imagine how they'd break it," she frowned. "But it's a good possibility. Armor yourselves, if they do, because this might make them angry."  
"Angry will be a mild description," I frowned. "Just hope they decide another time is better to attack."  
"Why?" Strata asked cynically. "What can you tell us, Dais?"  
"Talpa thinks Sada is his," I scowled. "He'll be pissed we're using her against him, and I'm a traitor."  
"Can it be broken from the inside?" Wildfire glared at me.  
"I'm a traitor," I repeated the line slowly for him. He scowled, but Halo stepped in once again.  
"Dais needs his armor," Halo spoke with force, making sure everyone understood what he wanted. "If Dais is right, we'll be in for hell if Talpa can break this. Any suggestions? Rowen?"  
The intellectual Ronin frowned, looked at Halo, and began frown as he racked his brain. "Well, he might not have the armor any more."  
"Where did it go, then?" I asked, bewildered at his statement. Not have my armor?  
  
"Or, maybe, you just need to call it," Strata frowned. "Try it." I closed my eyes, focusing on the symbol for serenity. I screwed up my brain in concentration, visualizing it clearly.  
"Nothing," I groaned. "I think it might be gone."  
"Well, how about Sada? Maybe she should try summoning it," Strata frowned.  
"No, I don't think a priestess has those abilities, but I'll try," Sada's faced became relaxed as she meditated. "No, I'm not a warrior."  
"But we are," Halo snapped his fingers. "Five Ronin armors might do it. Form a pentagram, put Dais in the center, and we'll call his armor."  
They arranged themselves around me, each closing his eyes, Wildfire closing his last. He frowned staring at me, knowing this might be against his better judgement. As he closed his eyes, I felt I might want to do the same and meditate again on serenity. I felt their powers flow around me, all their elements swirling in a circle. They made the symbol of serenity that I'd pictured in my mind burn and twirl with color, and I felt part of them flow into it as they each concentrated on it.  
My eyes flew open, and I felt the glow go directly to my forehead. They'd done it, and it was strange, knowing they'd all helped me, who'd been so awful to them. I uncurled my hand to see my kanji.  
"Sage saves the day," Cye laughed. "Good thing two of us have brains."  
"Whatever," Kento snorted. "Dais, put on your armor, and let's get ready."  
Several cracks of lightning exploded outside, followed by thunder, and the house shook, the lights flickering off and on. Mia screamed as the trees exploded with electricity as the sky lit up brighter than day. I gazed out at two forms standing on the far side of the lake.  
  
This took longer than I thought, but here it is. Thanks for the reviews, they were appreciated. Thanks (always reading and writing) MorganRay. 


	16. Epilougue: Final Sacrafice

Epilogue: Final Sacrifice  
(Sage)  
"Shut up!" Kento screamed at the windows, looking outside. I sighed, sitting quietly on the stairs. The supernatural storm crackled around the house, and soon, a black out happened, and I no longer could see across the lake, probably the work of Cale.  
"This sucks," Ryo paced the room. "We should be fighting, not hiding in the house!"  
"Not now," Rowen walked to the window, trying to see anything. "This is the way to do it, if you ask me."  
"No one asked you," Kento kicked the wall.  
"Stop it," Mia snapped. Her and Sada sat on the floor. I looked over at Sada, who sat beside Dais, and then over at Mia, on her other side. "Try to calm down. There's no way in."  
"Yeah, or out," Cye fidgeted with his fingers. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea, you know, we just could have fought."  
Explosions jolted the house. I hopped from the stairs where I sat, running around, trying to figure out what was happening. Clashing of metal and a sizzling sound was all I could hear.  
"The soldiers," Dais muttered. "They're attacking the fortress."  
"And frying!" Ryo laughed. "It's really holding up!"  
"And you doubted," Sada shook her head. I stared at the window, almost smelling the frying Tin Cans as they collided with Sada's barrier. It was a success, I had to admit. I turned back to Sada, nodding. She smiled, leaning back against the wall, perfectly calm.  
"I think, after all this crazy crap, I'm going to sleep," Kento yawned, stretching out on the floor. "Call me if something happens." I shrugged, taking a good napping position on the carpet.  
"I'll stay awake," Rowen offered. "I'm not that tired." I nodded again, falling to sleep easily.  
  
(Outside)  
"There's no way in," Cale threw more darkness at the fortified house, which glittered with unnatural magic. "The girl blocked us out!"  
"Got to be," Sekhmet sent another batch of soldiers across the lake. "They couldn't have boarded the place up that good. Nether spirit!"  
A blue gray blob floated down towards Sekhmet. "Search the barrier. Find us a way in." The Nether spirit floated across the lake, disappearing in the fog as the attack raged on.  
In minutes, the spirit floated back over. "What?" Cale demanded, slashing the air with his sword. "How can we get in? NOW! We don't have a lot of time."  
"The attic," the spirit's wispy voice was barely audible. "A crack, in the window, in the attic . . ."  
The spirit disappeared, leaving a malicious smile on Sekhmet's face. "Good, that's good. I think we should pay Dais a visit, what do you think?"  
"He'll be tortured, and I'll do it!" Cale and Sekhmet mustered the Dynasty's armies, heading towards the highest point of the Koji Mansion, bringing with them a host of Nether spirits. This was the hour of Sada's death. (Sage)  
"Sage," Rowen shook me. I opened my eyes, hearing no noise.  
"They're gone," I whispered, everyone else resting peacefully. "All of them?"  
"No, it's still dark, Cale is around yet," Rowen's eyes looked worried. "I think they're planning something."  
"Talpa would have to be here," I stood up, wide-awake at my own words. "Wake the others." We began to shake everyone, waking Sada, Ryo, and Dais first. "Get up," I whispered to Ryo. "They're doing something. Talpa might be here." Ryo bounded to his feet, ready for a fight.  
"Come on!" Ryo gave Kento a kick. "We got to go!" Kento rolled over, yawning as I rolled him across the floor a couple of times into Cye, who was already waking up.  
"What's going on?" Mia frowned. "There's no noise. They haven't left, have they?"  
"Talpa," I muttered. "I think he's about to pull something."  
"Good," Cye rolled his eyes. "Time for some fun now, Kento."  
"Yup," Kento put on his armor, and everyone else did the same. "Let's go kick some butt."  
A crash echoed from the attic. "THEY'VE BROKEN THROUGH!" Sada screamed. Mia and Sada stood in the living room as all of us rushed upstairs. I was second up the steps, reaching the second floor as the Tin Cans flooded from the attic.  
An entire army poured down through the second floor, us bottle-necked in the stair way, overwhelmed, pushed down the stairs as the army began to reach the first floor, where we promptly began to slice them open.  
"THIS IS CRAZY!" Kento screamed, doing what he did best. "THERE'S SO MANY OF THEM!"  
"And they're all distractions," Rowen muttered, taking out a couple of Tin Cans as twice that number took their place. "Cale and Sekhmet want Sada and Dais, not us this time. Keep your eyes on them."  
I glared over at Dais, fighting with all his might for us. Sada stood, staring directly above her, at the ceiling. Mia looked up, suddenly screaming as the ceiling tiles crashed down. I scrambled over, striking at Cale before he got a chance to do anything to the girls.  
"Well, if it isn't Halo," Cale laughed as darkness began to engulf the rooms of the manor. I heard a rushing wind following Cale as the darkness descended.  
"Nether spirits," Rowen cursed as he came to aid me. "They've brought Nether spirits."  
I strained my eyes towards the stairs, where the four of them still fought on, and that's where Sekhmet's voice came from, thankfully. I jumped Cale's blow, as Rowen blocked for me, but I watched the Nether spirits carefully as they began to circle over Mia and Sada.  
"Sada! The Nether spirits!" I yelled to her through the battle din. She stared at me before closing her eyes. Her mouth moved, no words coming out, but suddenly, the Nether spirits began to fall from the air like flies. They groaned their ghost wails, moaning like broken pipe organs, souls torn apart when they fell out of their horrid flight.  
"Wow," Rowen muttered as I began to concentrate on Cale again. "She's full of surprises."  
"She belongs to the Dynasty!" Cale and I locked swords, and I fought his darkness, driving him back, repelling him with all my will.  
"There's plenty of people to argue that," I hissed in Cale's face, flinging him off me, but his darkness still enveloped the room, and now, it was so complete I couldn't see anyone near the stairs, but there seemed to be a light coming from where Sada stood.  
"Look out!" Ryo yelled from the stairs as they crashed down, letting in something terrible, along with Sekhmet. The metal grating against the walls and making the floorboards creek made me thankful for blindness for a split second.  
"This is your end, traitor!" Sekhmet laughed as I kept fighting Cale, keeping him away from Sada with Rowen's help. The metal beast made terrible sounds from the other side of the room, as it bashed around the other four, and soon, I didn't think Cye was still in the battle.  
"Like Sekhmet's creation?" Cale laughed. "It's not really alive, you know, just a mechanical beast, but it serves its purpose of killing your friends and that traitor."  
"Your darkness won't last for long!" I went to strike Cale, as a powerful smack landed me into another wall.  
For what seemed like an eternity, I saw glimmering lights in the utter darkness, feeling absolutely safe. Was this what death felt like? Was I unconscious, but then, how could I be thinking? "Sage," Sada's soft voice came to me. "Sage, I need your help."  
"Yes?" I focused, seeing her soft face barely in the darkness.  
"We're not going to hold out, and I know how to get them to leave, at least for now," Sada whispered. "Take off you kanji, give me your armor, and I'll wear it, shed blood, and defile myself. They'll hunt Dais and I forever if I don't!"  
"Madness," I couldn't allow it. "No, no, we'll protect you forever."  
"Forever is longer than four hundred years, and that is all both of us can take. Sage, they'll kill him!" Sada's eyes brimmed with tears. "I need to do it, so my blood won't hold the power."  
"Fine," I stripped down to normal clothes, handing Sada my kanji. "I suppose this is why you saw me in your dream, huh?"  
"Well, there's always been a connection between us, because we're both light in darkness," she smiled, holding my kanji, summoning my sub armor. Her face paled, her natural blood fighting the armor. She then went forward, putting on the full armor of Halo, holding my saber sword, panting with all her might.  
"Cale!" Sada turned, striking at him. He froze, absolutely stunned, from what I could barely see. I'd never seen a woman in the armors, but she looked lovely, in some kind of way, like a bleeding sheep, or maybe like a fish growing wings.  
"Sada!" I heard Dais yell from the din with metal beast. The creature moved closer to where we were.  
"What?" Rowen froze, looking at the bearer of Halo, then, began to grope around the room. "Sage! Where the hell are you?"  
"I'm not dead," I muttered. Rowen tripped over me, standing up, thoroughly confused. "What the hell!"  
"She needs to do it," I sighed, standing up, ready to get back my armor when she was done. Inferno would be needed to get rid of this mess, and right now, that wasn't happening. "Get help the others because they're doing terrible with Sekhmet's pet."  
Rowen ran through the darkness, and I groped towards the sounds of Sada and Cale fighting. I saw her, glowing from with in, sparkling like a spiked jewel wearing my armor. "Demon of darkness!" Sada cried out, and I realized she was suppressing Cale's dark magic, and I could see around my almost enough to see the other guys.  
"Sada!" Dais cried out again, and I could see him, at the foot of the huge metal monster of miscellaneous parts from mythical creatures. She turned towards Dais for a split second, then towards me, and I saw her power climax, and she swung the sword one last time towards Cale.  
It hit him, dead in the stomach, pierced his armor, and soon, a torrent of blood poured from his side. I saw her power, in a rush of a second, flood into Cale, and then, out again, leaving her drained. Cale fell towards the ground, the darkness leaving, and so did Sada. My armor came off her, and I picked up my kanji.  
"Inferno!" I screamed out, now fully able to see the carnage and the huge onslaught of Dynasty soldiers surrounding us. "Let's finish this!" Ryo called up the Inferno, drawing the Fervor swords, striking at the metal monster, then Sekhmet, and finally all the Tin Cans, until the area was cleared.  
And then, it was silence.  
(Dais)  
The manor was in ruins, only a couple walls standing. The surrounding area suffered, too, most of the vegetation gone completely. And there she laid, in the middle of it all, a little trickled of blood at the corner of her mouth.  
"Sada!" My cry broke the silence that engulfed the warped landscape. "Sada!" I fell over her, placing my head on her chest, tears freely falling from my eyes. "You can't die."  
"I don't think she will," Mia knelt down, trying to move me, and gave up, feeling her pulse. "She's still alive, just very weak. Sage! Can you do anything?"  
"Probably," Sage knelt down across from me. "Dais, I need to feel Sada's heart, just for a second." I moved, letting Sage's hand find where Sada's heart would be. He fell still, and then, I felt warmth flow from his fingertips to Sada, enveloping her with healing strength. "That should do it," Sage let go, although he was very pale. Rowen came over, and Sage wrapped an arm around Rowen's shoulder to help walk.  
"Where is everyone?" Ryo came over, followed by Kento, a very sick and weak looking Cye slung over his shoulder. "Oh, God, we've got to get to a hospital or something." About a week later:  
(Dais)  
"Are you sure you have to leave?" Mia smiled at Sada and me. We'd gone to the hospital, and then, a little apartment to stay about a week. Mia was trying to get another house set up for the Ronin warrior because the apartment led to cramped quarters, which led to odd fights and hysterical incidences of male bonding, which included a lovely chorus by Rowen and Kento.  
"We've over worn our welcome," I laughed. Over the weeks, I'd noticed my own reflection change just slightly. Color came back to my face and hair, tinting my hair blond. "Plus, I think Kento would like to be rid of me."  
"Yeah, that's right, get out of here!" Kento yelled from the kitchen. Cye came out with a suitcase full of clothes Mia gave to Sada. His wounds, the worst of all of us, had healed decently well, but the scar on the side of his head still required a wrap around bandage.  
"I think you two deserve a honey moon," Ryo laughed, walking over to the door with my clothes. "And I certainly don't want to be kept up all night while you two hump each other."  
"Yes, well," Mia elbowed Ryo in the ribs. "If you want to come back, any time, at all, you'd be most definitely welcomed."  
"Yeah, any more Dynasty problems that get too out of hand, and we'll give you two a call," Rowen smirked. Sage came out, carrying two boxes.  
"Thank you," Sada smiled, taking the boxes from Sage. She opened them, revealing two beautifully carved necklaces with our star! "Oh, they're lovely."  
"Well, it's been fun," I shook all their hands, and Sada did so in turn, except slowly, carefully, looking into each of their eyes, causing a slight blush over each of the their faces.  
"I think I own you much," Sada smiled at Sage. "And I bless your love life."  
"He doesn't need help there," Kento muttered. Sada turned quietly to Kento.  
"Yes, well, then I'll bless all of your love lives, since you've returned my love to me," Sada turned to Mia, giving her a warm hug. "And you, my lady, have a lovely wedding." Mia blushed, and Sage's face tinted red.  
"Well, I don't think I'm getting married any time soon," Mia laughed.  
"Yes, but you will," Sada walked over to me. "Farewell!"  
"Good bye," I waved, walking out the door with Sada. We walked towards a park, just enjoying being alone together for the first time in forever.  
"Dais, love," Sada smiled at me. "We really should continue with where we left off alone."  
"Oh, a proper honey moon would be nice," I smiled at her. She nodded quietly. "Yes, some time alone, love, is well deserved."  
  
A/N: This took a long time to write. With finals, tennis, and band, it took a while to write, and then, I wanted it to be right. Anyway, FINAL THOUGHTS? What did you think of Sada? Is she a Mary Sue? Thanks for reviewing, always, MorganRay. 


End file.
